James III of Scotland
Encyclopedia
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch
owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England
, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.
His reputation as the first Renaissance
monarch in Scotland has sometimes been exaggerated, based on attacks on him in later chronicles for being more interested in such unmanly pursuits as music
than hunting, riding and leading his kingdom
into war
. In fact, the artistic legacy of his reign is slight, especially when compared to that of his successors, James IV
and James V
. Such evidence as there is consists of portrait coins produced during his reign that display the king in three-quarter profile wearing an imperial crown, the Trinity Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes
, which was probably not commissioned by the king, and an unusual hexagonal chapel at Restalrig
near Edinburgh
, perhaps inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Jerusalem.
and Mary of Guelders
. His exact date and place of birth have been a matter of debate — although not since the 1950s. Claims were made that he was born in May 1452, or 10 or 20 July 1451. The place of birth was either Stirling Castle
or the Castle of St Andrews, depending on the year. His most recent biographer, the historian Norman Macdougall
, argued strongly for late May 1452 at St Andrews
, Fife
. He succeeded his father James II
on 3 August 1460 and was crowned at Kelso Abbey
, Roxburghshire
, a week later.
During his childhood, the government was led by three successive factions, first the king's mother, Mary of Guelders
(1460–1463) (who briefly secured the return of the burgh of Berwick to Scotland), then James Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews, and Gilbert, Lord Kennedy
(1463–1466), then Robert, Lord Boyd
(1466–1469).
was made Earl of Arran
and married to the king's sister Mary. However, the family successfully negotiated the king's marriage to Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark
in 1469 as a part of ending the "Norwegian annual" fee owed to Denmark for the Western Isles, and receiving Orkney and Shetland (theoretically only as a temporary measure to cover Margaret's dowry). When James permanently annexed the islands to the crown in 1470, Scotland reached its greatest ever territorial extent.
James married Margaret of Denmark in July 1469 at Holyrood Abbey
, Edinburgh
. The marriage produced three sons:
, Saintonge
and Guelders
. These unrealistic aims resulted in parliamentary criticism, especially since the king was reluctant to deal with the more humdrum business of administering justice at home.
In 1474 a marriage alliance was agreed to with Edward IV of England
by which the future James IV of Scotland
was to marry Princess Cecily of York
, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
. It might have been a sensible move for Scotland, but it went against the traditional enmity of the two countries dating back to the reign of Robert I
and the Wars of Independence
, not to mention the vested interests of the border nobility. The alliance, therefore (and the taxes raised to pay for the marriage) was at least one of the reasons why the king was unpopular by 1479.
Also during the 1470s conflict developed between the king and his two brothers, Alexander, Duke of Albany
, and John, Earl of Mar
. Mar died suspiciously in Edinburgh
in 1480 and his estates were forfeited, possibly given to a royal favourite
, Robert Cochrane. Albany fled to France in 1479, accused of treason
and breaking the alliance with England.
But by 1479 the alliance was collapsing and war with England existed on an intermittent level in 1480–1482. In 1482 Edward IV launched a full-scale invasion led by the Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III
, including the Duke of Albany, styled "Alexander IV", as part of the invasion party. James, in attempting to lead his subjects against the invasion, was arrested by a group of disaffected nobles at Lauder Bridge in July 1482. It has been suggested that the nobles were already in league with Albany. The king was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle
and a new regime, led by "lieutenant-general" Albany, became established during the autumn of 1482. Meanwhile the English army, unable to take Edinburgh Castle, ran out of money and returned to England, having taken Berwick-upon-Tweed
for the last time.
, on the king's side.
In January 1483 Albany fled to his estates at Dunbar
. The death of his patron, Edward IV, on 9 April, left Albany in a weak position, and he fled over the border to England. He remained there until 1484, when he launched another abortive invasion at Lochmaben
. Another attempted return has been argued to have occurred in 1485, when (admittedly suspect) accounts suggest he escaped from Edinburgh Castle
on a rope made of sheets. Certainly his right-hand man, James Liddale of Halkerston, was arrested and executed around that time. Albany was killed in a joust in Paris later that year.
Despite a lucky escape in 1482, when he easily could have been murdered or executed in an attempt to bring his son to the throne, James did not reform his behaviour during the 1480s. Obsessive attempts to secure alliance with England continued, although they made little sense given the prevailing politics. He continued to favour a group of "familiars" unpopular with the more powerful magnates. He refused to travel for the implementation of justice and remained invariably resident in Edinburgh. He was also estranged from his wife, Margaret of Denmark, who lived in Stirling
, and increasingly his eldest son. He favoured his second son instead.
In January 1488, in Parliament
, James tried to gain supporters by making his second son Duke of Ross
and four Laird
s full Lords of Parliament. These allies were John Drummond of Cargill
, made Lord Drummond
; Robert Crichton of Sanquhar, made Lord Sanquhar
; John Hay of Yester
, made Lord Hay of Yester; and the Knight William Ruthven
, made Lord Ruthven
. But opposition to James was lead by the Earls of Angus
and Argyll
, and the Home
and Hepburn families. James's eldest son and heir, the future James IV
, was delivered into the hands of the rebels by Schaw of Sauchie on 2 February 1488. The Prince became the figurehead of the opposition party, perhaps reluctantly, or perhaps provoked by the favouritism given to his younger brother.
Matters came to a head on 11 June 1488, when the king faced the army raised by the disaffected nobles and many former councillors near Stirling, at the Battle of Sauchieburn
, and was defeated and killed.
Persistent legends, based on the highly coloured and unreliable accounts of 16th-century chroniclers such as Adam Abell
, Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
, John Leslie and George Buchanan
, claim that James III was assassinated at Milltown, near Bannockburn
, soon after the battle. There is no contemporary evidence to support this account, nor the allegation that he fled the battle, nor the tale that his assassin impersonated a priest in order to approach James.
A story is told that, on the eve of the Battle of Sauchieburn, Sir David Lindsay, son of Sir John, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, presented James III with a "great grey horse" that would carry him faster than any other horse into or away from the battle. Unfortunately, the horse threw the king during the battle, and James III was either killed in the fall, or was finished off by enemy soldiers.
Whatever his other faults, James does not seem to have been a coward nor (as Pitscottie claimed) did he avoid conflict or "manly pursuits". He actively pursued military conflict in 1482 and 1488 with disastrous result, and frequently proposed unrealistic schemes to take armies to the continent. It is most likely that he was killed in the heat of battle. James is buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey
.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.
His reputation as the first Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
monarch in Scotland has sometimes been exaggerated, based on attacks on him in later chronicles for being more interested in such unmanly pursuits as music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
than hunting, riding and leading his kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
into war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. In fact, the artistic legacy of his reign is slight, especially when compared to that of his successors, James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
and James V
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
. Such evidence as there is consists of portrait coins produced during his reign that display the king in three-quarter profile wearing an imperial crown, the Trinity Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes was a Flemish painter. He was, along with Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling and Gerard David, one of the most important of the Early Netherlandish painters.-Biography:...
, which was probably not commissioned by the king, and an unusual hexagonal chapel at Restalrig
Restalrig
Restalrig is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of the A199 road, and to the east of Lochend, with which it overlaps. Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road at Jock's Lodge, to Leith Links at the south edge of...
near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, perhaps inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan....
in Jerusalem.
Early life
James was born to James II of ScotlandJames II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
and Mary of Guelders
Mary of Guelders
Mary of Guelders was the Queen Consort of Scotland as the wife of King James II of Scotland. She served as Regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463.-Background:...
. His exact date and place of birth have been a matter of debate — although not since the 1950s. Claims were made that he was born in May 1452, or 10 or 20 July 1451. The place of birth was either Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
or the Castle of St Andrews, depending on the year. His most recent biographer, the historian Norman Macdougall
Norman Macdougall
Norman Macdougall is a Scottish historian who is known for writing about Scottish crown politics. He was a senior lecturer in Scottish history at the University of St Andrews....
, argued strongly for late May 1452 at St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. He succeeded his father James II
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
on 3 August 1460 and was crowned at Kelso Abbey
Kelso Abbey
Kelso Abbey is what remains of a Scottish abbey founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot waters, the site of what was once the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
, Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
, a week later.
During his childhood, the government was led by three successive factions, first the king's mother, Mary of Guelders
Mary of Guelders
Mary of Guelders was the Queen Consort of Scotland as the wife of King James II of Scotland. She served as Regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463.-Background:...
(1460–1463) (who briefly secured the return of the burgh of Berwick to Scotland), then James Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews, and Gilbert, Lord Kennedy
Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy
Gilbert Kennedy of Dunure, 1st Lord Kennedy was a Scottish lord, a son of Sir James Kennedy "the Younger" of Dunure, the Younger, and Lady Mary Stewart, daughter of Robert III, King of the Scots...
(1463–1466), then Robert, Lord Boyd
Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd
Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd Lord Boyd, was a Scottish statesman.-Biography:Robert Boyd was knighted, and was created a Peer of Parliament by James II of Scotland at some date between 1451 and 18 July 1454 . In 1460 he was one of the Regents during the minority of James III...
(1466–1469).
Relation to the Boyd faction
The Boyd faction made itself unpopular, especially with the king, through self-aggrandisement. Lord Boyd's son ThomasThomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran
Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.Thomas was the son of Robert, 1st Lord Boyd, who was a regent during the minority of James III. His father was able have Thomas created Earl of Arran and Baron Kilmarnock in the Peerage of Scotland and arrange Thomas' marriage to Princess Mary,...
was made Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran is a title in both the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. The two titles refer to different places, the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and the Aran Islands in Ireland...
and married to the king's sister Mary. However, the family successfully negotiated the king's marriage to Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark
Christian I of Denmark
Christian I was a Danish monarch, king of Denmark , Norway and Sweden , under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa...
in 1469 as a part of ending the "Norwegian annual" fee owed to Denmark for the Western Isles, and receiving Orkney and Shetland (theoretically only as a temporary measure to cover Margaret's dowry). When James permanently annexed the islands to the crown in 1470, Scotland reached its greatest ever territorial extent.
Marriage
Holyrood Abbey
Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The marriage produced three sons:
- James IV of ScotlandJames IV of ScotlandJames IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
- James Stewart, Duke of RossJames Stewart, Duke of RossJames Stewart, Duke of Ross was the son of King James III of Scotland and Margaret of Denmark.-Titles and Offices:He was made Marquess of Ormond at his baptism...
- John Stewart, Earl of Mar
Break with the Boyds
Conflict broke out between James and the Boyd family following the marriage to Princess Mary. Robert and Thomas Boyd (with Princess Mary) were out of the country involved in diplomacy when their regime was overthrown. Mary's marriage was later declared void in 1473. The family of Sir Alexander Boyd was executed by James in 1469.First alliance and then war with England
James's policies during the 1470s revolved primarily around ambitious continental schemes for territorial expansion and alliance with England. Between 1471 and 1473 he suggested annexations or invasions of BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Saintonge
Saintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
and Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
. These unrealistic aims resulted in parliamentary criticism, especially since the king was reluctant to deal with the more humdrum business of administering justice at home.
In 1474 a marriage alliance was agreed to with Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
by which the future James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
was to marry Princess Cecily of York
Cecily of York
Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles was an English Princess and the third, but eventual second surviving, daughter of Edward IV, King of England and his queen consort, née Lady Elizabeth Woodville, daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers.-Birth and Family:Cecily was born in Westminster Palace...
, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
. It might have been a sensible move for Scotland, but it went against the traditional enmity of the two countries dating back to the reign of Robert I
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
and the Wars of Independence
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
, not to mention the vested interests of the border nobility. The alliance, therefore (and the taxes raised to pay for the marriage) was at least one of the reasons why the king was unpopular by 1479.
Also during the 1470s conflict developed between the king and his two brothers, Alexander, Duke of Albany
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
, and John, Earl of Mar
John Stewart, Earl of Mar (d. 1479)
John Stewart, Earl of Mar and Garioch was the youngest son of James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders.James II bestowed the titles of Earl of Mar and Earl of Garioch on his son sometime between 1458 and 1459. In 1479, John was accused of treason and imprisoned at Craigmillar Castle...
. Mar died suspiciously in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1480 and his estates were forfeited, possibly given to a royal favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
, Robert Cochrane. Albany fled to France in 1479, accused of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and breaking the alliance with England.
But by 1479 the alliance was collapsing and war with England existed on an intermittent level in 1480–1482. In 1482 Edward IV launched a full-scale invasion led by the Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, including the Duke of Albany, styled "Alexander IV", as part of the invasion party. James, in attempting to lead his subjects against the invasion, was arrested by a group of disaffected nobles at Lauder Bridge in July 1482. It has been suggested that the nobles were already in league with Albany. The king was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
and a new regime, led by "lieutenant-general" Albany, became established during the autumn of 1482. Meanwhile the English army, unable to take Edinburgh Castle, ran out of money and returned to England, having taken Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
for the last time.
Restoration to power
James was able to regain power by buying off members of Albany government, so that by the December 1482 Albany's government was collapsing. In particular his attempt to claim the vacant earldom of Mar led to the intervention of the powerful George Gordon, 2nd Earl of HuntlyGeorge Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly was Chancellor of Scotland from 1498–1501.Gordon fought on the King's side against the Douglases during The Douglas Rebellion and helped secure a defeat at the Battle of Brechin. The 2nd Earl completed the building work that his father begun in constructing Huntly...
, on the king's side.
In January 1483 Albany fled to his estates at Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
. The death of his patron, Edward IV, on 9 April, left Albany in a weak position, and he fled over the border to England. He remained there until 1484, when he launched another abortive invasion at Lochmaben
Battle of Lochmaben Fair
The Battle of Lochmaben Fair was an engagement in Lochmaben, Scotland, on 22 July 1484 between Scottish loyalists to James III of Scotland and the rebels Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, leading cavalry from England...
. Another attempted return has been argued to have occurred in 1485, when (admittedly suspect) accounts suggest he escaped from Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
on a rope made of sheets. Certainly his right-hand man, James Liddale of Halkerston, was arrested and executed around that time. Albany was killed in a joust in Paris later that year.
Death in battle
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
, and increasingly his eldest son. He favoured his second son instead.
In January 1488, in Parliament
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
, James tried to gain supporters by making his second son Duke of Ross
Duke of Ross
The title Duke of Ross has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland, both times for younger sons of the King of Scotland. Named for Ross in Scotland, it was first created in 1488 for James Stewart, Earl of Ross, the second son of James III. On his early death in 1504, the title became...
and four Laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
s full Lords of Parliament. These allies were John Drummond of Cargill
John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond
John Drummond, first Lord Drummond , was a Scottish statesman.Drummond, ninth successive knight of his family, was the eldest son of Sir Malcolm Drummond of Cargill and Stobhall, Perthshire, by his marriage with Mariota, eldest daughter of Sir David Murray of Tullibardine in the same county. He sat...
, made Lord Drummond
Earl of Perth
The title Earl of Perth was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond.The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary...
; Robert Crichton of Sanquhar, made Lord Sanquhar
Earl of Dumfries
Earl of Dumfries is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was originally created for William Crichton, 9th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, in 1633, and stayed in the Crichton family until the death of the fourth earl in 1758, at which point the title passed to first the Dalrymple and then the McDouall...
; John Hay of Yester
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester is the ancestor of the Marquesses of Tweeddale. He was created a Lord of Parliament on 29 January 1488 by James III of Scotland....
, made Lord Hay of Yester; and the Knight William Ruthven
William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven
William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven was a Scottish nobleman and founder of the noble lines of the Ruthven family.William Ruthven of Ruthven was created Lord Ruthven by summons at the Parliament of Scotland in February 1488. James III of Scotland made him a Lord of Parliament to gain his support...
, made Lord Ruthven
Earl of Gowrie
Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient province of Scotland. On 23 August 1581 William Ruthven,...
. But opposition to James was lead by the Earls of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus , was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He became known as "Bell the Cat"...
and Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of Gillespic Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville. Elizabeth Somerville was the daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville and Helen Hepburn...
, and the Home
Clan Home
The Homes are a Scottish family. They were a powerful force in medieval Lothian and the Borders. The chief of the name is David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home.-Origins of the clan:...
and Hepburn families. James's eldest son and heir, the future James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
, was delivered into the hands of the rebels by Schaw of Sauchie on 2 February 1488. The Prince became the figurehead of the opposition party, perhaps reluctantly, or perhaps provoked by the favouritism given to his younger brother.
Matters came to a head on 11 June 1488, when the king faced the army raised by the disaffected nobles and many former councillors near Stirling, at the Battle of Sauchieburn
Battle of Sauchieburn
The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on June 11, 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about two miles south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between as many as 30,000 troops of King James III of Scotland and some 18,000 troops raised by a group of dissident Scottish nobles...
, and was defeated and killed.
Persistent legends, based on the highly coloured and unreliable accounts of 16th-century chroniclers such as Adam Abell
Adam Abell
Adam Abell was a Scottish Friar at Jedburgh Abbey. He wrote a chronicle in the 1530s that gives an insight into contemporary thought and contains anecdotes that appear in later writings.-Life:...
, Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
, John Leslie and George Buchanan
George Buchanan (humanist)
George Buchanan was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. He was part of the Monarchomach movement.-Early life:...
, claim that James III was assassinated at Milltown, near Bannockburn
Bannockburn
Bannockburn is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
, soon after the battle. There is no contemporary evidence to support this account, nor the allegation that he fled the battle, nor the tale that his assassin impersonated a priest in order to approach James.
A story is told that, on the eve of the Battle of Sauchieburn, Sir David Lindsay, son of Sir John, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, presented James III with a "great grey horse" that would carry him faster than any other horse into or away from the battle. Unfortunately, the horse threw the king during the battle, and James III was either killed in the fall, or was finished off by enemy soldiers.
Whatever his other faults, James does not seem to have been a coward nor (as Pitscottie claimed) did he avoid conflict or "manly pursuits". He actively pursued military conflict in 1482 and 1488 with disastrous result, and frequently proposed unrealistic schemes to take armies to the continent. It is most likely that he was killed in the heat of battle. James is buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey
Cambuskenneth Abbey
Cambuskenneth Abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery located on an area of land enclosed by a meander of the River Forth near Stirling in Scotland. The abbey is largely reduced to its foundations. The neighbouring modern village of Cambuskenneth is named after it.Cambuskenneth Abbey was founded...
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Titles and styles
- c.CircaCirca , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1451/52–3 August 1460: The Duke of Rothesay - 3 August 1460–11 June 1488: His Grace The King
Fictional portrayals
James III has been depicted in historical novels and short stories. They include:- Price of a Princess (1994) by Nigel TranterNigel TranterNigel Tranter OBE was a Scottish historian and author.-Early life:Nigel Tranter was born in Glasgow and educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He trained as an accountant and worked in Scottish National Insurance Company, founded by his uncle. In 1933 he married May Jean Campbell Grieve...
. The book takes place in the years 1465–1469. The main character is Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, a sister of James III. She is depicted joining her husband Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran in a mission to the court of Christian I of DenmarkChristian I of DenmarkChristian I was a Danish monarch, king of Denmark , Norway and Sweden , under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa...
. The two negotiate the ceeding of Orkney and Shetland from the Kalmar UnionKalmar UnionThe Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
to the Kingdom of ScotlandKingdom of ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. - Lord in Waiting (1994) by Nigel Tranter. The book takes place in the years 1474–1488. It covers events of the reign of James III, seen from the perspective of "John, Lord of Douglas". James III is depicted influenced by one William Sheves, the court astrologer and alchemist. Douglas would rather have Mary Stewart (see above) on the throne.
- The Admiral (2001) by Nigel Tranter. The book takes place in the years 1480–1530. It covers the career of Andrew Wood of LargoAndrew Wood of LargoSir Andrew Wood of Largo was a Scottish sea captain. Beginning as a merchant in Leith, he was involved in national naval actions and rose to become Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was knighted c. 1495...
and the formation of the Royal Scots NavyRoyal Scots NavyThe Royal Scots Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its foundation in the 11th century until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707.- Origins :...
. James III is depicted favoring Wood with the title of Lord High Admiral of ScotlandLord High Admiral of ScotlandThe Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Offices of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707.The office was one of considerable power, also known as Royal Scottish Admiralty, including command of the King's ships and sailors and inspection of all sea...
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